Some goals do require hard work while others do not.  I think people who have worked harder tend to appreciate their achievements a little more, but that's just my opinion.  Plenty of people do not set high goals.  Others seem to be given what they want without much effort at all.  It really depends on the goal and the person.  It also depends on how ethical you are willing to be.  For instance, it is easy to steal someone else's work (or products) but far more difficult to achieve success independently.

Frankly, some people attain goals, even very difficult goals, with greater ease than others. So it's not true that all ideas or goals require a lot of hard work. Many great ideas are specifically intended to save work, after all. I do think, though, that to improve yourself, you have to work hard. The point is that there are always new ideas and new goals to seek out and work toward.

Just depends on the goal and the amount of talent that you have.  If you pick really easy goals, then you really don't have to work very hard to accomplish them.  So I do not agree with this as a blanket statement.  It would have to read something like "for a worthwhile idea or goal..."